We had a lazy autumn Sunday afternoon in the sunshine in Cambridge yesterday, watching the punts passing up and down the River Cam between the University colleges. Sit for a while at any one spot and you can soon pick up relevant historical points from knowledgeable guides as they float by with tourists. From our position on the Queens’ College riverbank we heard about the derided Erasmus building, completed in 1959, Queens’ College Old Court dating back to 1448, and the wooden bridge, first constructed in 1749, but not, despite popular belief, designed by Newton or called the Mathematical Bridge. Freshfaced undergraduates steer their parents and friends upriver, keen to impress while avoiding the indignity of slipping into the water as they punt, an event that would be bound to make the afternoon even more unforgettable.
Punting on the River Cam, Cambridge
- October 19, 2009